My husband poisoned my drink, terminated my pregnancy, woman tells court

A petitioner, Chiwendu Nwadi, has alleged that her husband, Emeka Nwadi, deliberately poisoned her drink, which led to her losing her pregnancy.

She made the allegation in a petition filed by her lawyer, Moses Ibe, before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Customary Court sitting in Ushafa, Bwari Area Council.

The petitioner is seeking, among other things, the dissolution of her 13-year marriage to her husband on the ground that “the union has broken down irretrievably.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the petition has been fixed for further mention on 5 November because of the absence of the respondent (the husband).

According to the petitioner, the union, consummated in 2011 under the Native Law and Custom, as well as the exchange of marital vows in a church, has produced three children, ages 12, 11 and 2.

She alleged that the husband, “is a man of unimaginable violence and cruelty, fetish, a serial wife beater and adulterer.”

“After I had my second child, the Respondent said he was no longer interested in having other children. My mother-in-law, however, opposed that decision and continued to put pressure on us to have other children.

“Seven years down the lane, I became pregnant. When I informed my husband about it, he poisoned my drink, which made me to lose that pregnancy.”

She continued: “In 2021, I became pregnant again, but kept it to myself because of my last experience.

“When the pregnancy was 2 months, it was during the COVID 19 and my husband’s brother Mr Uche Nwadi, arranged for the whole family to be vaccinated. I had to excuse myself from the vaccination, by informing my husband that I was pregnant.

“When my husband saw the result of the test, he denied being responsible for the pregnancy and accused me of adultery.

“He sent me out of my matrimonial home to my parent’s house. He parked out my belongings thereafter, and dumped them in our house,” she said.

The petitioner said she was in her parent’s house for three months when some elders from the husband’s village got information about the incident, and said the action they took was against Igbo tradition.

She said after the elders had admonished her husband’s family against the action, he sent his relatives to come to her family house for atonement.

The petitioner said the case was resolved on the agreement that a DNA would be conducted after she had given birth.

She said after giving birth, the child was “a carbon copy’’ of the husband, and that was the last she heard of DNA.

“My husband is always in the habit of denying my pregnancies, and will always threaten to conduct DNA. But, since the children always look like him, he then accepts them as his,’’ she said.

The petitioner alleged that her husband is “a chronic womaniser who keeps late nights and had turned her to a punching bag.”

The petitioner recalled that on 17 September, the husband told her that he had noticed that things were not working out well for him any longer.
“He told me he had visited about five different spiritualists who informed him that my mother and I were responsible for his travails.

“He said that we took his photograph to Umudike in Abia State, where his destiny is tied down. He equally accused me of adultery and lesbianism,” she said.

She said on 19 September, while she was in her shop at Dutse Central Market, Abuja, her husband in company of some men came to chase her out, parked all her goods, locked up the shop with another key and threatened to kill her if she came back to the house.

“I have no access to my children and made several attempts to see them at their school, Amazing Kids Academy, Kubwa, Abuja to no avail.

“The school management told me my husband served them a court order, restraining me from having any communication with my children.”

The petitioner said that about a week after she was thrown out, the husband brought in a 24-year-old lady who now occupied the house, and had been mal-treating her children.

“The welfare of my three children has deteriorated and attempts to resolve the issue, including my parents leading a delegation to my husband’s brother, failed.

“I have also suffered psychological, emotional and physical abuse while the marriage lasted and still suffer same trauma because my children are still in the custody of my husband,’’ she said.

The petitioner, therefore, urged the court to dissolve the marriage, grant custody of the three children to her and restrain the husband from using thugs or any security agents to harass her.

She sought the order of the court compelling the respondent to provide suitable accommodation for her and the three children and to continue paying the school fees of the children to the university level.

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She urged the court to order the respondent to pay the sum of N1 million monthly to her, for feeding, medicals and maintenance of the three children of the marriage.

The petitioner also urged the court to order the respondent to return her personal belongings, clothing and the wares and items he carted away from her shop at Dutse Market.

NAN reports that the respondent is yet to enter an appearance or file a defence to the petition.

(NAN)